Why Yellow For Wooden Pencils

[bleair]

https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-little-known-reason-pencils-yellow

 

The spoiler - yellow because of an effective marketing effort by Koh-i-Noor (Hardtmuth) and then that being reinforced by other pencil makers.

 

Does anyone know more details about the graphite referred to as being sourced from Siberia?

Edited July 28, 2017 by bleair

[qvxb]

In the linked-to article the statement "Diamonds are graphite..." appears. This is incorrect. Diamonds and graphite are composed of carbon atoms, but their arrangements are different. See

 

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-can-graphite-and-diam/

 

For Siberian graphite see

 

http://www.fabercastell.com/company/history/1856?index=8

 

In the past, the yellow paint on pencils contained lead chromate (chrome yellow).

 

"Over 10 years ago, a significant hazard in pencils was from lead chromate paint on the exterior of yellow pencils. However this has since been eliminated as a risk."

 

http://www.baylor.edu/ehs/index.php?id=94372

[Tasmith]

Thank you for sharing!

[Studio97]

Yellow has something to do with royalty and respect in China. Caught on with manufacturers.

[ParramattaPaul]

I seem to remember that some pencils were made with pressed (compressed) coal dust for the 'leads' in the 1950s. Am I mistaken?

Edited July 28, 2017 by ParramattaPaul

[Drone]

https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-little-known-reason-pencils-yellow

 

The spoiler - yellow because of an effective marketing effort by Koh-i-Noor (Hardtmuth) and then that being reinforced by other pencil makers.

 

Does anyone know more details about the graphite referred to as being sourced from Siberia?

 

Nah, Yellow pencils were made to match the school buses

 

Gee, there's even a Wikipedia article on School Bus Yellow - which looks identical to pencil yellow:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_bus_yellow

 

School bus yellow is a color which was especially formulated for use on school buses in North America in 1939. The color is now officially known in Canada and the U.S. as National School Bus Glossy Yellow and was originally called National School Bus Chrome. The pigment used for this color was, for a long time, the lead-containing chrome yellow.

 

School Bus Yellow

Hex: #FFD800

sRGBB (r, g, : (255, 216, 0)

CMYKH (c, m, y, k): (1, 12, 100, 0)

HSV (h, s, v): (51 deg., 100%, 100%)